How I got $3,750 worth of Burberry merchandise for $201

If you’re following me on Facebook or Twitter you already know about these sales (and many of you even said you headed out to take advantage after seeing my posts). If not, here’s the story:

My mom and I headed out to Manchester, Vt. Saturday to do a little birthday shopping for my sister. The Burberry outlet out there has been clutch for me in the past, and my sister fancies designer apparel even more than I do.

We get to Burberry shortly after they open and the shelves and racks are much emptier than right after Christmas when you couldn’t walk down the merchandise-crowded aisles, but the sales … let’s just say they make prices at thrift stores look like a rip off.

Just about everything in the place was 75 percent off — the sale price — because the store is closing in two weeks (March 28). They had $1,000 trench coats for $99, Burberry-trimmed hats for $19, dress pants (for men and women) for 29 bucks; handbags in the $200 range (originally more than $1,000) and golf apparel for $15 and much, much more.

After spending nearly two hours picking through the clothing and accessories, we walked away with more than $3,700 worth of merchandise (six items) for $201 — all in.

The Burberry Factory Outlet is located at Route 11 Manchester, Vt. You can call them at (802) 362-5600

StandfordSteph, on the weekend they had pretty much all sizes from 2 to 12; XS to XL. For men, they had a wide range of sizes, too, including pants up to a 45 (weird sizing, I know) waist and XXL tops.

Erin, I got a gold-toned one (already have the traditional black from Burberry, plus I prefer a twist on the basic :) ), but they also had navy, red, fuchsia, khaki, tan, etc. The ones at the outlet were a tad shorter than the one pictured. Also, they had a bunch of winter coats including this fabulous, cream puffer with subtle plaid on the collar that I really, really wanted, but it was $199 and, compared to everything else in the store, I deemed that “too expensive.”

Crap. My wife & I spent the weekend in Manch and I didn’t think to stop there. Bought 2 suits and a few shorts at Brook Bros; maybe I could have saved some $$. I had not been to Manchester in about 2 years and was struck by the number of vacancies.

Walt, I won’t be going back to Manchester Designer Outlets once that Burberry closes down. I can get all the stores I like — Coach, BCBG, Theory — down at Woodbury and the prices and merchandise are pretty much the same. I liked the Manchester Burberry store because their stock was much different, and much better priced, than the Woodbury Burberry.

I think they screwed themselves out there in Vt. They (the Burberry store) did not align themselves with the outlets as a whole, so they were not listed on any of the promotional material. A lot of people didn’t even know there was a Burberry out that way.

This isn’t about Burberry’s specifically. It’s a lament about the lack of boutique and other specialty shops in the immediate Albany area. And the ones we’ve had have left, including the outlet shops in Latham. Gone is Lord & Taylor, Misaka, The Shoe Depot in Delmar and others. Crossgates Mall stores are aimed mostly at the youngsters who are spending their parents’ money on junk. What is it, do you think, about the Capital District market that it doesn’t support better stores?

Big Fan, there are other outlet centers (Woodbury Common and Wrenthem), but not clearance centers. The one in Vermont wasn’t a clearance center, either, it was just an outlet store going out of business.